by USA TODAY

by USA TODAY

A day after hearing arguments on California's Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage in the state, the Supreme Court turned its attention to the federal Defense of Marriage Act. Some notable remarks from members of the court are included below:

Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy:

"The question is whether or not the federal government, under our federalism scheme, has the authority to regulate marriage."

"You don't doubt that the lobby supporting the enactment of same sex-marriage laws in different states is politically powerful, do you? â?¦ As far as I can tell, political figures are falling over themselves to endorse your side of the case."

Associate Justice Elena Kagan:

"What happened in 1996 - and I'm going to quote from the House Report here - is that 'Congress decided to reflect an honor of collective moral judgment and to express moral disapproval of homosexuality.'"

Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg:

"For the federal government then to come in to say 'No joint return, no marital deduction, no Social Security benefits, your spouse is very sick but you can't get leave' â?¦ one might well ask, 'What kind of marriage is this?'"